2015 Tour de France results and standings, Stage 6: Zdenek Stybar wins, Tony Martin crashes

The sun was out, the racing breezy, the scenery beautiful. Zdenek Stybar won Stage 6 with a flourish up a short, nasty climb to a summit finish. Everything was good -- almost perfect except for a spill in the final kilometerthat dropped Tony Martin and Vincenzo Nibali to the ground.

As much as riders can enjoy the Tour de France at all, Stage 6 was the first time they may have experienced something approximating fun since last Saturday. The peloton slowly chased down a breakaway of three riders all day. Among the trio was Daniel Teklehaimanot, an Eritrean rider who wanted nothing more than to take the polka dot jersey as the King of the Mountains and got it with a burst and some help from Perrig Quemeneur and Kenneth Vanbilsen. He fulfilled a childhood dream.

Vanbilsen then went solo before being caught by the peloton with three kilometers to go. The Tour was on its way to a relatively accident-free day before Martin nicked the wheel in front of him, wobbled to his right and caused a domino effect that took out five or six riders. The yellow jersey appeared to be the most affected. He rode to the line clutching his left arm while being guided by a few of his Etixx-Quick Step teammates.

Because he crashed within the final kilometer of the race, Martin will be given the same time as the peloton and remain in the Maillot Jaune. It should give him some comfort, too, that another Etixx-Quick Step rider, Stybar, got the stage win. Unfortunately, a nearly pristine day wasn’t quite, and perhaps the best story of the Tour -- Martin’s quest to capture and retain the yellow jersey -- may have a sad ending. Here’s hoping for the best.